MPSF Championship Seeds On the Line This Week
April 8, 2013
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UC IRVINE (17-6 MPSF, 20-6 Overall) swept Stanford and Pacific at home this past weekend. Kyle Russell hit .765 against the Cardinal with a career-high 14 kills, owning just 13 career kills prior to the match. He went on to accumulate a .625 clip over the two contests (24-4-32). The Anteaters host CS Northridge Wednesday, where a win or a Long Beach State loss on Saturday seals the two seed for the conference tournament. UCI owns a tiebreaker over LBSU (2-0 head-to-head MPSF matches).
LONG BEACH STATE (17-6 MPSF, 21-7 Overall) erased a two-set deficit at Pepperdine, following a 3-0 win at USC, to secure at least a three seed. Dalton Ammerman hit .412 in Malibu (20-6-34), with a .500 clip (11-2-18) through the comeback in the final three sets. The 49ers host CS Northridge Saturday (Apr. 13).
CAL BAPTIST (12-10 MPSF, 16-12 Overall) Levi Cabral served eight aces over wins against UC Santa Barbara at home and UCLA on the road, becoming the program's all-time leader (189). He also totaled 24 kills (.309), 11 digs, and six blocks through the seven sets. The Lancers end their initial season in the MPSF this weekend at Pacific and Stanford.
UCLA (14-8 MPSF, 18-10 Overall) bounced back from the Cal Baptist match to hand No. 1 BYU its first 3-0 loss of the year, and snapping its MPSF season-long 12-match win streak. UCLA hit .481 in the win. Gonzalo Quiroga recorded 15 kills (.333), while Dane Worley added 10 with a .643 clip. The edge for the fourth quarterfinal home court is with the Bruins. Amongst multiple scenarios, they need to win just one set on Wednesday against Pepperdine to secure the four seed.
PEPPERDINE (12-10 MPSF, 13-10 Overall) Maurice Torres slammed a career-high tying 28 kills, hitting .500, in a five-set home win over CS Northridge. He added match-highs of seven blocks and three aces. Matt West dished 63 assists, then a conference season-high. The Waves visit UCLA and UCSB this week. While there is a mathematical chance of a four seed, one win this week guarantees the five, holding the tiebreaker over Stanford should it occur.
BYU (19-3 MPSF, 20-4 Overall) Taylor Sander had an 18-kill, 11-dig double-double in the comeback win at UCSB. The Cougars were down 13-11 in set five before taking the final four points. Sander also served three aces and had five blocks. Ben Patch had 19 kills and eight digs. BYU visits Pacific and Stanford this week, before returning home as the top seed.
STANFORD (11-11 MPSF, 14-11 Overall) won a straight-set match at UC San Diego, as Eric Mochalski hit .533 (10-2-15). Denny Falls tallied eight blocks. At home vs. Cal Baptist and BYU, the Cardinal currently has the six seed, and would get the five with two wins and two Pepperdine losses.
USC (6-16 MPSF, 6-16 Overall) Cristian Rivera had 18 kills at .500 and Joey Booth had 13 kills at .348 in the 3-0 home finale win over CS Northridge. Booth also hit a season-high .500 (10-2-16) against Long Beach State. USC ends its season at UCSB and UCLA this week.
PACIFIC (5-16 MPSF, 8-17 Overall) won a five-set match at UC San Diego last Friday, and hosts its season finales this weekend against BYU and Cal Baptist. Adam Troy (17 kills/10 digs) and Taylor Hughes (16 kills/14 digs) earned double-doubles in the road victory.
UC SANTA BARBARA (10-12 MPSF, 14-14 Overall) Evan Licht had match-highs of 13 kills at Cal Baptist and 21 kills (and eight digs) at home vs. No. 1 BYU. The Gauchos host USC and Pepperdine to close the regular season. UCSB enters the final week sitting as the seven seed, but with two wins, still has a shot to elevate to as high as the five.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (9-13 MPSF, 11-13 Overall) stays on the road to finish the regular season, visiting UC Irvine and Long Beach State. The Matadors need one win, or one loss by Hawaii, to secure the final MPSF Tournament spot. John Baker hit. 435 (13-3-23) at USC, following a 27-kill (.373), eight-dig effort by Brandon Lebrock in Malibu.
UC SAN DIEGO (4-18 MPSF, 7-20 Overall) Mike Brunsting set a 2013 MPSF-High 64 assists against Pacific, while Johl Awerkamp posted 30 kills, second-most in the MPSF this year. The 36-34 set three win was the longest in the conference this year. The Tritons host Hawaii for their final two of the year (Apr. 12-13).
HAWAII (8-14 MPSF, 9-16 Overall) comes off a bye week, and travels to UC San Diego for a pair Friday and Saturday. The Warriors are fighting for the final MPSF postseason spot, needing two wins in La Jolla coupled with two losses for CS Northridge.
LEVI CABRAL MPSF MOLTEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cal Baptist senior outside hitter Levi Cabral (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) became the Lancers' all-time leader in career aces with 189, serving eight this past week, four each in wins over No. 7 UCSB and No. 3 UCLA. He totaled 24 kills (.309), 11 digs, and six blocks over the seven sets, averaging 5.14 points per set. Also Nominated: Dalton Ammerman (LBSU); Kyle Russell (UCI); Joey Booth (USC); Brian Cook (STAN)